HOW TO GET READY FOR A GARAGE SALE

A moving garage or yard sale is a win-win, helping ease your move in a few ways. Not only will you make a little cash, but you’ll also reduce moving costs by lightening your load! Having a sale will also encourage you along in the packing process by helping you sort through your things.

Here’s how to get ready for a garage sale and make it a smooth success:

Gather & EvaluateThe first step, and perhaps the most dreaded, is starting the purging process. You can avoid some stress by starting to organize and sort items early in your moving process. It can be hard to let things go when asking yourself if you should keep or sell. Give yourself time to go room by room, and consider having multiple yard sales instead of one “everything-must-go” sale.

Your first time going through items, sort into “Pack”, “Sell” and “Not Sure Yet” piles. We recommend going through items at least three times, and become more critical about what you keep with each go-round. During the final cut, if it takes more than a few seconds to recall the last time you used an item in question, it’s time to part ways!

Easy to sell items include:

Toys and baby items

Clothing

Small kitchen appliances

Household plants & gardening items

Tools, machines, hobby parts and like-items

Sporting Equipment

Books and records

Craft & school supplies

Plan the DayWhile Saturdays are generally your best bet, always check the weather and consider holidays around your weekend of choice. You should give yourself at least three weeks to prepare supplies, mark pricing, and get the word out. Besides the usual signs about town, consider posting about your sale on social media and placing a classified ad in the local paper. Be sure to include “hot” items you plan to sell!

Have fun with the design of your ad to draw attention, but keep it simple! Street signs can have balloons, and FB ads could have clip art graphics

When posting signs, think outside the neighborhood. Flyers can go to grocery stores, strip centers and other places where people gather

Start Selling!This day before, gather the other items you’ll need to run the sale and put in a central spot so you can start on time the next morning (money box with ~$100 change, plastic bags, calculator, a pad of paper to put price stickers on post-sale, etc). It’s also a great idea to put up signs the night before so it’s one less thing to do before you start!

Here are a few tips to keep in mind on the day of the garage sale:

Presentation is key for selling. Be sure to neatly display and organize your items. Do your best to keep merchandise off the floor

Willing to barter? Opt to hang up “We Negotiate” or “Make Me An Offer” signs in lieu of dollar amounts

During the last 1-2 hours of your sale, up the ante and help move unwanted goods by marking down your original pricing to 50% off. Any money is better than no money, right?

Best of luck on Moving Sale Day!The team at Sorensen.

For more information on how we can help make your next move the best move, call us!Orlando: 407-447-2773Melbourne: 321-254-2770